Bernie and all,
The gas tank release on our 91 Spider with only 35,000 miles broke. My
wife was driving it and took it to "her" mechanic. We are fortunate to have a
factory trained Alfa only mechanic here in Oklahoma City. He replaced the
cable and the outer shield with a part available from the usual suppliers.
I would suggest removing the carpet on the left side of the trunk. Rig an
emergency release for the gas cap. Maybe run it toward the front of the trunk
and hide it in the compartment at the front of the trunk. Use heavy nylon
fishing line or steel cable.
Then rig an emergency release for the trunk latch. Drop it through the
floor or run it to the passenger compartment and hid it under the carpet.
That would be similar to the emergency release on the Milano trunk. It is
under the rear seat.
On my first Milano, my daughter could not get the trunk open. Turns out
the bolts on the latch itself had come loose. Therefore, neither the standard
nor the emergency release would work.
To prevent that, remove the carpet and the rear license plate. Figure out
where the latch is and drill a hole straight back such that you can push the
latch with a screwdriver. Plug the hole with silly cone and cover it with the
license plate.
I believe that some spiders had a hole directly below the rear trunk
latch. You could take a long screwdriver from under the car and open the
trunk. Not sure if that is present in the late spiders or not.
Anyway, if you can get into the trunk, you can open the gas cap from
there. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure...
Ciao,
Russ Neely
--- On Tue, 9/29/09, Bernie Bennett <[email protected]> wrote:
From: Bernie Bennett <[email protected]>
Subject: Re: [alfa] Broken Gas Tank Latch-1987 Quad
To: "Alfa Digest" <[email protected]>, "Robert Block"
<[email protected]>, "Russell Neely" <[email protected]>
Date: Tuesday, September 29, 2009, 9:32 AM
Russ / Robert /All:
Reading your discussion has me wonder/worry -ing! Is this
fuel door opening arrangement the same in Series 4 Spiders too? Handle above
the Trunk release handle? Is Robert's failure point the latch inside the
fender, not the cable itself? Having had two trunk latch cable failures in
the
short 6-8 years we've owned our spider, I'd love to prevent a cable failure
for the gas cap latch if this is the issue.
--- On Sun, 9/27/09, Russell
Neely <[email protected]> wrote:
> From: Russell Neely
<[email protected]>
> Subject: Re: [alfa] Broken Gas Tank Latch-1987 Quad
>
To: "Alfa Digest" <[email protected]>, "Robert Block"
<[email protected]>
> Date: Sunday, September 27, 2009, 11:16 PM
>
Lift the handle that
> pulls the gas release. Can you see a broken end of
>
the cable? Can you get pliers on it? If not you
> will have to remove the
>
carpet on the driver side of the trunk. You will need
> to do that eventually
> to replace the cable. I do not remember if you have
> to remove the rubber
> spill prevention boot or not. At this point, you
> should be able to put
gas in
> the car.
> Remove the triangular shaped plastic part
> that holds
the two release
> latches. Remove the lever for the gas
> release
> You
might find a length of replacement cable
> at a bike shop or hardware
>
store. With luck, you can thread a new inner cable
> through the old sheath.
> Or you can buy a replacement cable with the
> surrounding sheath from the
> usual sources. Use the old cable housing to pull the
> new cable through to
the
> front.
>
> Before you put everything back together,
> inspect the
triangular part that
> holds the two release levers. I have seen these crack
> quite badly. You may
> be able to buy a replacement.
> I know I
reinforced the part that holds the
> levers with aluminum cut to
> hold the
levers and glued to the inside of the plastic
> parts.
>
> Ciao,
> Russ
Neely
>
>
>
>
> --- On Sun, 9/27/09, Robert Block
<[email protected]>
> wrote:
>
>
> From: Robert Block
<[email protected]>
> Subject: [alfa] Broken Gas Tank Latch-1987 Quad
>
To: "Alfa Digest" <[email protected]>
> Date: Sunday, September 27, 2009,
4:21 PM
>
>
> What's the best way to fix a broken gas tank latch on a
> 1987
quad?
> How do open up the gas cap when the latch is broken?
>
> Bob Block
>
1987 Quad
> [email protected]
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